Ouachita inducting 9 Tigers into hall of fame

By BRIAN RAMSEY | Ouachita Athletics

Ouachita Baptist University is set to induct nine new members into its athletics hall of fame on Friday, November 6.

The 2026 induction class represents eight different sports and six decades of Tiger athletics. The induction ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. on November 6 at the Walker Conference Center on the Ouachita campus. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $30 each. Tables of six are available for $160. Tickets can be purchased upon arrival or online at www.OBUtigers.com/HOFtickets.

TJ Bingham was a three-time First Team All-Gulf South Conference defensive lineman for the Tiger football team from 1998-2001 and made the CoSIDA All-America First Team as a senior. His senior season of 2001 was one of the best for an individual in program history, highlighted by an unofficial school record of 18 sacks and 26 tackles for loss. In addition to his career at Ouachita, Bingham also played professionally, signing as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs and later playing for two NFL Europe teams.

Bobby Cheatwood was a two-time All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference selection and two-time All-NAIA District 17 pitcher for the Tiger baseball team from 1968-1971. He was the AIC leader in wins in 1969 (8-3, 1.91 ERA). Cheatwood played on four AIC championship teams, three of which went on to win the NAIA district title.

Greg Freeman was a two-time NAIA All-American diver and a national champion in two events during his career at Ouachita from 1985-1989. He became Ouachita’s first ever swimming & diving national champion with titles in the one-meter and three-meter diving events in the 1989 season. He was also named the National Diver of the Year by the College Swimming Coaches Association.

Rogers Gaines is one of the most decorated athletes in Ouachita history, registering 12 NAIA All-America track & field honors and six All-AIC selections during his career from 1987-1990. He excelled in multiple events, including the triple jump, long jump, and the 4×100-meter relay. His relay team won the NAIA national championship in 1990 with a time of 41.67 and finished second in 1987 with a time of 41.10, which remains the school record. His 1989 long jump distance of 25’5” also remains the school record. He was the AIC champion in the long jump in 1989 and triple jump in 1990.

Haley Hatcher Weaver set records for Ouachita women’s soccer that may never be broken. In just three seasons (2013-2015), the three-time Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and two-time All-American scored 55 goals in only 56 games. She finished her career with 169 shots on goal, 324 total shots, 19 game-winning goals, and 118 points, all current school records. Among her lengthy list of accolades, she was Ouachita’s nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year in 2016, the NCAA Division II Academic All-American of the Year in 2015, a three-time winner of Ouachita’s Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year award, and a three-time winner of Ouachita’s Outstanding Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.

Lynn (Sooter) Hickey was an All-American for the Ouachita women’s basketball team during her playing career from 1969-1973, which laid the foundation for what ended up being a successful career in coaching and athletics administration. Hickey was the head women’s basketball coach at Kansas State from 1979-1984 and led the Wildcats to five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and 125 total wins during her tenure. She was also the head coach at Texas A&M from 1984-1994, leading the Aggies to their first ever NCAA tournament appearance. She accepted her first athletics director role in 1999 at UT-San Antonio, a position she held through 2017. She retired in 2023 as the athletics director at Eastern Washington. She was inducted into the Kansas State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004, the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 2020, the Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Honor in 2023, and the NACDA Hall of Fame in 2024. She was named the NACWAA Division I-AAA Administrator of the Year in 2005, the NACDA Division I-AAA West Region Athletics Director of the Year in 2006, and the San Antonio Express-News Sports Woman of the Year in 2010. In 2007, she was elected to serve on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, becoming just the second female to do so.

Tom Jones, the only posthumous inductee in the 2026 class, was a multi-sport athlete for the Tigers from 1968-1971. He exceled most in track & field, where he won a combined six AIC individual titles, three each in shot put and discus. He earned NAIA All-America honors in indoor track in 1970 and 1971. He was an outdoor All-American in 1970. His shot put throw of 60’2” during the 1970 season remains the school record. Jones also played basketball for the Tigers, a tenure highlighted by one shot, a 38-foot buzzer-beater in the 1970 AIC championship game to beat Henderson State 71-69.

Dallas Smith was a four-time wrestling All-American and the 2015 national champion during his career at Ouachita from 2012-2015. He is the first wrestling athlete to be inducted into the Ouachita Athletics Hall of Fame. In Ouachita’s second season of wrestling in 2011-12, Smith finished sixth at nationals in the 184-pound division. He was the national runner-up in 2013 and took third place in 2014. He culminated his career by winning it all in 2015, ending with a 4-3 win by decision over Maryville’s Nick Burghardt in the finals. Smith began his coaching career at Ouachita as a graduate assistant before accepting a position at Lindenwood, where he later became head coach in 2021. After the program was discontinued in 2024, Smith became head coach at Webb City High School in Missouri.

Steve Smith was one of the key contributors to Ouachita baseball’s success on the national stage during his career from 2005-2008. Smith shined the brightest in his final two seasons, going 8-2 on the mound with 59 strikeouts as a junior in 2007, and then turning in one the best single seasons in program history as a senior in 2008 with a 10-1 record, a 2.00 ERA, and 143 strikeouts. The Tigers were the NCAA Division II national runners-up that season, and Smith was named the College World Series Most Valuable Player. His career total of 26 wins is tied for the school record, and his 313 career strikeouts ranks second. He also holds school records for career innings pitched (342.1), single season innings pitched (130.1 in 2008), and single season strikeouts (143 in 2008).

Following the induction ceremony on November 6, the 2026 class will be recognized during halftime of Ouachita’s football game against Southwestern Oklahoma State on November 7.

More information about the Ouachita Athletics Hall of Fame can be found at www.OBUtigers.com/HallofFame.